1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to applying for and obtaining transaction accounts, and more particularly to using an identification card to obtain such transaction accounts.
2. Related Art
There are currently several methods of obtaining a transaction account. Many credit-offering companies send out mass mailings of “pre-approved” applications to prospective customers. Those who receive such mailings and are interested in obtaining a transaction account fill out the written application and mail it back for processing. As another example, when a customer is making a purchase at a store, often the sales clerk will inquire whether the customer is interested in applying for a transaction account, sometimes offering some sort of immediate discount for doing so. If so, the customer either manually fills out a paper application with his or her personal information, or in some cases verbally provides the necessary information to the sales clerk, who then keys the information into a computer terminal.
There are several disadvantages to this latter method of applying for a transaction account. It is time consuming and can be somewhat annoying for the customer to manually fill out the paper application while standing in a store. The applications are typically small and hard to read, having little space for the necessary information. In some instances, a customer might sloppily complete the application, hand it to the sales clerk, and then the clerk has to ask the consumer to verbally provide the needed information because some if it might be illegible. This is a further waste of time. A more substantial disadvantage is the possibility of identity theft.
In this age of identity theft and credit fraud, consumers are more protective than ever of their personal information. When applying for transaction accounts, consumers are very wary of having to supply and submit any personal information. This is even more prevalent when the application for credit is done in a public place, such as in a store or other point-of-sale area.
Given the foregoing, what is needed is a system, method and computer program product for automatically applying for a transaction account with the use of an identification card.